Citation

Saucier ME. Juv. Justice 1995; 2(2): 19-21.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

James Reston called 1974 “a time of testing for the American system of constitutional government.” During that year of testing, Congress created a unique and effective partnership among Federal, State, and local governments. Yet, the birth of this partnership went vir- tually unnoticed in the shadow of Watergate and ensuing events. Even The New York Times failed to mention the proposed law--the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974--during congressional debate and voting or when it was signed by President Ford on September 7, 1974.

Two decades later, in September 1994, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice cel- ebrated the 20th anniversary of the JJDP Act and reflected on the circumstances surrounding its entry into the Nation’s legal heritage. The legislative history of what was to become the JJDP Act of 1974 actually began 2 years earlier on February 8, 1972, when Democratic Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana intro- duced the Juvenile Justice and Delin- quency Prevention Act of 1972 (S. 3148). During 4 days of hearings, 43 wit- nesses testified; however, the 92d Con- gress adjourned without taking final action.